“Wow...” was my first thought when I held the invitation to Kalasri`s 40
years jubilee performance in my hands. What a difficult task, to capture
and cover such a vast topic, I thought further, and so I went to the
Scala Theatre in Basel with great curiosity and interest. After Diwali
prayers and offerings to the gods by D. Keshava and family, a truly
magical performance journey began.

It started with the Kalasri dance school ensemble gracefully portraying
the Himalaya mountains, also called the ‘Rooftop of the World’ and its
century-old fascination to people. This was followed by a solo
performance of Keshava dancing a hymn about the Wonder of Nature called
Himalayas, which, according to Indian mythology, is the parenting deity
of Goddess Parvati. As the Himalayas are also a highly spiritual place
where the practice of yoga originates from, a wonderful interpretation
of various yoga figures was danced by the dance ensemble, appearing so
graceful and easy it made one want to enroll in one of the Kalasri yoga
classes on the spot.

Like in all mountain regions of the world, but particularly in the
Himalayas with its deep canyons and mountains, some as high as 8000
metres and more, echoes can be experienced. Anjali and Sumitra Keshava
now enchanted the spectators with a beautiful performance on that
phenomenon called ‘Echo.’ The movements of both dancers were perfect and
partially synchronic; it was awesome, as my American friends would say.
The next mystic tale was about Rati Manmatha, why love is invisible to
us humans. I liked this translation into dance by Keshava and his
daughters Anjali and Sumitra, both equally gifted performers like their
parents Keshava and Esther Jenny. Wonderful also the slightly humorous
touch added by Keshava in his way of performing angry god Shiva.

Gangaavatarana tells about the river Ganga, India’s most holy river, and
how the water masses were brought from heaven to earth gently and in
seven streams, pouring down Shiva’s hair. Amazingly well choreographed
and interpreted in Kathak style, one of the major forms of Indian
classical dance. Guest star dancer Bharathi Vittal from India fascinated
with her performance, swirling and circling powerful yet equally
gracious like whirling water itself. Vittal was the perfect person to
portray Mother Ganga, appearing wise and ageless at the same time. The
final act of the Himalaya dance theatre was Tillana, about and in honor
of Shiva, god of Indian dance. Once more, the complete Kalasri Dance
Ensemble entered the stage and presented a colourful, sparkling dance
finale, a truly worthy happy end to a marvelous evening with wonderful
performers, both dancers as well as musicians, in a spirit-lifting
atmosphere.